Upbeat Washington hopes to turn Penn State around

October 31, 2007

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Coquese Washington was talking about her new team when she suddenly raised the pitch of her voice and gave an unsolicited impersonation of Happy Valley’s most famous senior citizen.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. You never know with these kids,” the Penn State women’s basketball coach said, imitating the distinctive voice of 80-year-old football coach Joe Paterno, before breaking into laughter on her office couch.

Six months into her new job, Washington seems to have settled quite nicely into her new surroundings. Reviving a program that has fallen on hard times might be a tougher task for the rookie head coach.

Once a powerhouse, Penn State stumbled to losing records in the last two seasons, including 15-16 last year. The Lady Lions last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2004-5, an embarrassing first-round loss to 13th-seeded Liberty.

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Controversy swirled the last two years around Washington’s predecessor, Rene Portland, who stepped down in March after winning 606 games and leading Penn State to 21 NCAA tournament appearances over 27 seasons.

Portland’s resignation came more than a month after she and the university settled a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former player who accused the coach of having a “no-lesbian” policy.

Washington, 36, came aboard in April, sporting an infectious smile and a resume that included a WNBA championship as a player with the Houston Comets (2000) and eight season as an assistant at her alma mater, Notre Dame.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, the new coach, who has a law degree from Notre Dame and was once head of the WNBA players union, declined to talk about personal interactions with her predecessor chose her words carefully on the controversy.

The allegations against Portland lingered with the team, with protesters sometimes picketing arenas home and away. But Washington said she hasn’t felt the need to address the topic of discrimination with her team and didn’t think Penn State’s image had been tarnished.

“I felt when I took the job, that … we had some adversity as a program and had to work through that adversity, but I didn’t necessarily think there was an image problem,” she said about the Lady Lions.

If anything, Washington said, the uncertainty in Happy Valley had more to do with her players being confused about the direction of the program rather than off-court controversies.

“Once it was announced I was the coach, they were like, ’OK, let’s go. We’ve got direction again,”’ she said.

Athletic director Tim Curley was hesitant to talk about the Portland era.

“I really can’t talk about where we were before. I just think we’re headed in the right direction now” with Washington, Curley said Wednesday. “I think over time she’ll have her stamp on the program.”

Off the court, it seems like it’s all smiles around the locker room. Junior forward Rashida Mark, who describes herself as laid-back, said she likes Washington’s approach.

“I don’t feel as nervous if I miss a shot,” Mark said at the team’s media day in October. She said she feels comfortable approaching Washington about personal matters like school or family.

Junior point guard Brianne O’Rourke gives Washington high marks.

“She strives for the best, and she wants us to be great in every aspect of our lives outside basketball as well,” she said.

It’s exactly the kind of impact Washington hoped to have.

“I don’t know what they were used to or not,” Washington said. “That’s just me, that’s my personality. I’m a much better coach when I have great relations with the players.”

Known as a tireless recruiter, Washington helped Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw lead the Irish to the 2001 NCAA title. Now, it’s Washington’s turn to lead, and she’s made enough of an impact that the three women recruited under Portland before she left have decided to stick with Washington.

Everybody will help on a roster that has just 10 scholarship players. Penn State is solid at guard with O’Rourke and fellow returnees Tyra Grant and Mashea Williams and also has wing player Kamela Gissendanner, the team’s only senior.

But there are potentially big problems in the frontcourt, which is inexperienced and young.

“We’re still finding ourselves as a team,” she said on a day when she held a 6 a.m. practice. “We are going to be a team that’s going to get better as the season goes on.”

Her regular-season debut arrives Nov. 9, when Penn State hosts Arizona in the WBCA/Basketball Travelers Classic.